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Thursday, 9 May 2013

Top Ten Quotes on Language and Learning

I've recently been working on some resources to assist teachers and support staff when working with students who experience speech & language difficulties. Here are some interesting quotes to get you thinking about the importance of language in the learning process...

>> "Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

>> "Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about." - Benjamin Lee Whorf

>> “Language is not a genetic gift, it is a social gift. Learning a new language is becoming a member of the club -the community of speakers of that language.” ‒ Frank Smith

>> "The quality of our thoughts is bordered on all sides by our facility with language." - J. Michael Straczynski

>> "Language ought to be the joint creation of poets and manual workers." - George Orwell

>> "[Language is] really a pretty amazing invention if you think about it. Here I have a very complicated, messy, confused idea in my head. I'm sitting here making grunting sounds and hopefully constructing a similar messy, confused idea in your head that bears some analogy to it.” - Danny Hillis

And perhaps most importantly:

>> "Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. The friends who listen to us are the ones we move toward. When we are listened to, it creates us, makes us unfold and expand." - Karl A. Menninger